diff --git a/tests/Core/Ruleset/ProcessRulesetShouldProcessElementTest.php b/tests/Core/Ruleset/ProcessRulesetShouldProcessElementTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cd04ae78dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Core/Ruleset/ProcessRulesetShouldProcessElementTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,388 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Test handling of `phpc(cs|cbf)-only` instructions at ruleset level.
+ *
+ * @author Juliette Reinders Folmer <phpcs_nospam@adviesenzo.nl>
+ * @copyright 2024 PHPCSStandards and contributors
+ * @license https://github.com/PHPCSStandards/PHP_CodeSniffer/blob/master/licence.txt BSD Licence
+ */
+
+namespace PHP_CodeSniffer\Tests\Core\Ruleset;
+
+use PHP_CodeSniffer\Config;
+use PHP_CodeSniffer\Ruleset;
+use PHP_CodeSniffer\Tests\ConfigDouble;
+use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;
+
+/**
+ * Test handling of `phpc(cs|cbf)-only` instructions at ruleset level.
+ *
+ * @covers \PHP_CodeSniffer\Ruleset::processRuleset
+ * @covers \PHP_CodeSniffer\Ruleset::shouldProcessElement
+ */
+final class ProcessRulesetShouldProcessElementTest extends TestCase
+{
+
+ /**
+ * Cache to store the original ini values for ini settings being changed in these tests.
+ *
+ * @var array<string, string|null>
+ */
+ private static $originalIniValues = [
+ 'bcmath.scale' => null,
+ 'docref_root' => null,
+ 'user_agent' => null,
+ ];
+
+ /**
+ * The Config object.
+ *
+ * @var \PHP_CodeSniffer\Tests\ConfigDouble
+ */
+ private static $config;
+
+ /**
+ * The Ruleset object.
+ *
+ * @var \PHP_CodeSniffer\Ruleset
+ */
+ private static $ruleset;
+
+
+ /**
+ * Store the original ini values to allow for restoring them after the tests.
+ *
+ * @beforeClass
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public static function saveOriginalIniValues()
+ {
+ foreach (self::$originalIniValues as $name => $null) {
+ $value = ini_get($name);
+ if ($value !== false) {
+ self::$originalIniValues[$name] = $value;
+ }
+ }
+
+ }//end saveOriginalIniValues()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Initialize the config and ruleset objects for this test only once (but do allow recording code coverage).
+ *
+ * @before
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ protected function initializeConfigAndRuleset()
+ {
+ if (isset(self::$ruleset) === false) {
+ // Set up the ruleset.
+ $standard = __DIR__.'/ProcessRulesetShouldProcessElementTest.xml';
+ self::$config = new ConfigDouble(["--standard=$standard"]);
+ self::$ruleset = new Ruleset(self::$config);
+ }
+
+ }//end initializeConfigAndRuleset()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Destroy the Config object and restor the ini values after the tests.
+ *
+ * @afterClass
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public static function restoreOriginalValues()
+ {
+ // Explicitly trigger __destruct() on the ConfigDouble to reset the Config statics.
+ // The explicit method call prevents potential stray test-local references to the $config object
+ // preventing the destructor from running the clean up (which without stray references would be
+ // automagically triggered when this object is destroyed, but we can't definitively rely on that).
+ if (isset(self::$config) === true) {
+ self::$config->__destruct();
+ }
+
+ foreach (self::$originalIniValues as $name => $value) {
+ if ($value === null) {
+ continue;
+ }
+
+ ini_set($name, $value);
+ }
+
+ }//end restoreOriginalValues()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CS mode, phpcs-only <config> directives are respected and phpcbf-only <config>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessConfigCsonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === true) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CS mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $this->assertSame('true', Config::getConfigData('neither'), 'Non-selective config directive was not applied.');
+ $this->assertSame('true', Config::getConfigData('csOnly'), 'CS-only config directive was not applied.');
+ $this->assertSame(null, Config::getConfigData('cbfOnly'), 'CBF-only config directive was applied, while it shouldn\'t have been.');
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessConfigCsonly()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CBF mode, phpcbf-only <config> directives are respected and phpcs-only <config>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @group CBF
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessConfigCbfonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === false) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CBF mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $this->assertSame('true', Config::getConfigData('neither'), 'Non-selective config directive was not applied.');
+ $this->assertSame(null, Config::getConfigData('csOnly'), 'CS-only config directive was applied, while it shouldn\'t have been.');
+ $this->assertSame('true', Config::getConfigData('cbfOnly'), 'CBF-only config directive was not applied.');
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessConfigCbfonly()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CS mode, phpcs-only <arg> directives are respected and phpcbf-only <arg>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessArgCsonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === true) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CS mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $expectedExtensions = [
+ 'php' => 'PHP',
+ 'phpt' => 'PHP',
+ ];
+ $expectedReports = ['full' => null];
+
+ $this->assertSame($expectedExtensions, self::$config->extensions, 'Non-selective arg directive was not applied.');
+ $this->assertTrue(self::$config->showProgress, 'Non-selective short arg directive was not applied [1].');
+ $this->assertTrue(self::$config->showSources, 'Non-selective short arg directive was not applied [2].');
+ $this->assertTrue(self::$config->colors, 'CS-only arg directive was not applied.');
+ $this->assertSame($expectedReports, self::$config->reports, 'CBF-only arg directive was applied, while it shouldn\'t have been.');
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessArgCsonly()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CBF mode, phpcbf-only <arg> directives are respected and phpcs-only <arg>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @group CBF
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessArgCbfonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === false) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CBF mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $expectedExtensions = [
+ 'php' => 'PHP',
+ 'phpt' => 'PHP',
+ ];
+ $expectedReports = ['summary' => null];
+
+ $this->assertSame($expectedExtensions, self::$config->extensions, 'Non-selective arg directive was not applied.');
+ $this->assertTrue(self::$config->showProgress, 'Non-selective short arg directive was not applied [1].');
+ $this->assertTrue(self::$config->showSources, 'Non-selective short arg directive was not applied [2].');
+ $this->assertFalse(self::$config->colors, 'CS-only arg directive was applied, while it shouldn\'t have been.');
+ $this->assertSame($expectedReports, self::$config->reports, 'CBF-only arg directive was not applied.');
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessArgCbfonly()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CS mode, phpcs-only <ini> directives are respected and phpcbf-only <ini>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessIniCsonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === true) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CS mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $this->assertSame('2', ini_get('bcmath.scale'), 'Non-selective ini directive was not applied.');
+ $this->assertSame('path/to/docs/', ini_get('docref_root'), 'CS-only ini directive was not applied.');
+ $this->assertSame('', ini_get('user_agent'), 'CBF-only ini directive was applied, while it shouldn\'t have been.');
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessIniCsonly()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CBF mode, phpcbf-only <ini> directives are respected and phpcs-only <ini>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @group CBF
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessIniCbfonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === false) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CBF mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $this->assertSame('2', ini_get('bcmath.scale'), 'Non-selective ini directive was not applied.');
+ $this->assertSame('', ini_get('docref_root'), 'CS-only ini directive was applied, while it shouldn\'t have been..');
+ $this->assertSame('Never mind', ini_get('user_agent'), 'CBF-only ini directive was not applied.');
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessIniCbfonly()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CS mode, phpcs-only <exclude-pattern> directives are respected and phpcbf-only <exclude-pattern>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessExcludePatternCsonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === true) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CS mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $expected = [
+ './tests/' => 'absolute',
+ './vendor/' => 'absolute',
+ ];
+
+ $this->assertSame($expected, self::$ruleset->ignorePatterns);
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessExcludePatternCsonly()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CBF mode, phpcbf-only <exclude-pattern> directives are respected and phpcs-only <exclude-pattern>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @group CBF
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessExcludePatternCbfonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === false) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CBF mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $expected = [
+ './tests/' => 'absolute',
+ './node-modules/' => 'absolute',
+ ];
+
+ $this->assertSame($expected, self::$ruleset->ignorePatterns);
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessExcludePatternCbfonly()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CS mode, phpcs-only <rule> directives are respected and phpcbf-only <rule>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessRuleCsonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === true) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CS mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $this->assertArrayHasKey('PEAR.Formatting.MultiLineAssignment', self::$ruleset->sniffCodes);
+ $this->assertArrayHasKey('Generic.Arrays.ArrayIndent', self::$ruleset->sniffCodes);
+ $this->assertArrayNotHasKey('PSR2.Classes.ClassDeclaration', self::$ruleset->sniffCodes);
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessRuleCsonly()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CBF mode, phpcbf-only <rule> directives are respected and phpcs-only <rule>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @group CBF
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessRuleCbfonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === false) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CBF mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $this->assertArrayHasKey('PEAR.Formatting.MultiLineAssignment', self::$ruleset->sniffCodes);
+ $this->assertArrayNotHasKey('Generic.Arrays.ArrayIndent', self::$ruleset->sniffCodes);
+ $this->assertArrayHasKey('PSR2.Classes.ClassDeclaration', self::$ruleset->sniffCodes);
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessRuleCbfonly()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CS mode, phpcs-only <exclude> in <rule> directives are respected and phpcbf-only <exclude> in <rule>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessRuleExcludeCsonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === true) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CS mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $expected = [
+ 'PEAR.Formatting.MultiLineAssignment.Indent' => [
+ 'severity' => 0,
+ ],
+ ];
+
+ $this->assertSame($expected, self::$ruleset->ruleset);
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessRuleExcludeCsonly()
+
+
+ /**
+ * Verify that in CBF mode, phpcbf-only <exclude> in <rule> directives are respected and phpcs-only <exclude> in <rule>
+ * directives are ignored.
+ *
+ * @group CBF
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+ public function testShouldProcessRuleExcludeCbfonly()
+ {
+ if (PHP_CODESNIFFER_CBF === false) {
+ $this->markTestSkipped('This test needs CBF mode to run');
+ }
+
+ $expected = [
+ 'PEAR.Formatting.MultiLineAssignment.EqualSignLine' => [
+ 'severity' => 0,
+ ],
+ ];
+
+ $this->assertSame($expected, self::$ruleset->ruleset);
+
+ }//end testShouldProcessRuleExcludeCbfonly()
+
+
+}//end class
diff --git a/tests/Core/Ruleset/ProcessRulesetShouldProcessElementTest.xml b/tests/Core/Ruleset/ProcessRulesetShouldProcessElementTest.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..62ea0e62f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Core/Ruleset/ProcessRulesetShouldProcessElementTest.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+<?xml version="1.0"?>
+<ruleset xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" name="ProcessRulesetShouldProcessElementTest" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/PHPCSStandards/PHP_CodeSniffer/master/phpcs.xsd">
+
+ <file>.</file>
+
+ <!--
+ ################
+ # Neither set. #
+ ################
+ -->
+ <config name="neither" value="true"/>
+ <arg value="ps" />
+ <arg name="extensions" value="php,phpt" />
+ <ini name="bcmath.scale" value="2"/>
+
+ <exclude-pattern>./tests/</exclude-pattern>
+
+ <rule ref="PEAR.Formatting.MultiLineAssignment"/>
+
+ <!--
+ ###################
+ # phpcs-only set. #
+ ###################
+ -->
+ <config phpcs-only="true" name="csOnly" value="true"/>
+ <arg phpcs-only="true" name="colors"/>
+ <ini phpcs-only="true" name="docref_root" value="path/to/docs/"/>
+
+ <exclude-pattern phpcs-only="true">./vendor/</exclude-pattern>
+
+ <rule phpcs-only="true" ref="Generic.Arrays.ArrayIndent"/>
+
+ <rule ref="PEAR.Formatting.MultiLineAssignment">
+ <exclude phpcs-only="true" name="PEAR.Formatting.MultiLineAssignment.Indent"/>
+ </rule>
+
+ <!--
+ ####################
+ # phpcbf-only set. #
+ ####################
+ -->
+ <config phpcbf-only="true" name="cbfOnly" value="true"/>
+ <arg phpcbf-only="true" name="report" value="summary"/>
+ <ini phpcbf-only="true" name="user_agent" value="Never mind"/>
+
+ <exclude-pattern phpcbf-only="true">./node-modules/</exclude-pattern>
+
+ <rule phpcbf-only="true" ref="PSR2.Classes.ClassDeclaration"/>
+
+ <rule ref="PEAR.Formatting.MultiLineAssignment">
+ <exclude phpcbf-only="true" name="PEAR.Formatting.MultiLineAssignment.EqualSignLine"/>
+ </rule>
+
+</ruleset>